Mortal's Purple Sky Cave Heaven

Chapter 455 Heavenly Sand Wasteland
Han Li's little green bottle can condense green liquid to accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs, which is indeed miraculous, but it takes several days to condense a single drop, which is barely enough to sustain his own cultivation. There is very little left over that can be used to cultivate spiritual beasts and insects.

The spiritual fields in the Purple Cloud Cave Heaven are quite different. As long as there is a continuous supply of spiritual energy and spirit stones, the spiritual fields can accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs without any restrictions. For Nie Zhaonan, cultivating a large number of mature Gold-Eating Insects is not difficult.

However, on the other hand, more than 700,000 gold-devouring insects are enough.

After exchanging a few more jokes with the three women, Nie Zhaonan took out some spiritual tea and wine, and while silently driving the Azure Spirit Shuttle forward, they drank and made merry.

At the same time, Longyang entered the room, his lips twitched slightly, and with a flick of his hand, a bright green futon suddenly appeared.

He put it on the ground and sat cross-legged on it.

"Hmph, it's about time to complete this mission in about a month. I'm really looking forward to this day. How could a mere Void Refinement cultivator possess a treasure of the Heavenly Treasure rank? The Azure Spirit Shuttle, the Ancestor should be very interested in this item, right?" Long Yang's lips moved slightly, and he muttered to himself in a barely audible voice before slowly closing his eyes, but a strange smile lingered on his face for a long time.

If the patriarch of the Long family were to take action personally, he could naturally erase Nie Zhaonan silently, leaving no trace.

In another quiet room, several meters in size, Xiaofeng Fairy was sitting leisurely on a wooden chair.

"Today I have witnessed it with my own eyes, and even with my cultivation level, I still cannot see the depth of this Fellow Daoist Nie's strength. He is indeed no ordinary person, and it was worth making this special trip. It is a pity that Fellow Daoist Nie has no intention of joining any other forces. He is not even interested in the Long family, let alone my Gu family."

"However, the rumors about his fondness for beautiful women are true. Even when carrying out special missions, he still brings three beautiful Daoist companions with him."

"I wonder if we can make a move on this. No, someone who has cultivated to our level wouldn't lack a firm will. Although he has a strong preference for matters of love, it's impossible for him to change his mind and join my Gu family. Besides, the female cultivators around him are indeed stunningly beautiful, and the Gu family currently has no suitable candidate to match them."

Fairy Xiaofeng hesitated for a long while, then finally shook her head and sighed softly.

"His true strength far surpasses that of others of the same level, that much is certain, but the exact extent of his power remains unclear. We need to observe him further during this mission before deciding what to offer to win him over."

"My Gu family is known as a True Spirit Family, and to outsiders it certainly seems incredibly prestigious. However, while the various True Spirit Families may appear to be allied, the distribution of benefits depends on each family's individual strength."

In Tianyuan City, thousands of miles away, in a dark and secluded chamber, a Taoist priest in his forties, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a pale golden complexion, stood.

Suddenly, a purple light flashed across his body, revealing a strange smile.

“Even my beloved disciple was sent out. Even if all the cultivators who carried out this mission were wiped out, naturally no one would suspect that it was me, his ‘master,’ who did it.”

"This Nie Zhaonan has only just advanced to the early stage of the Void Refinement realm, and his strength is only below that of a Body Integration cultivator. Even a peak Void Refinement cultivator is far from being his match. It's only a matter of time before such a person advances to the Body Integration realm, and there's even a high probability that he will cultivate to the level of the Three Sovereigns and Seven Demon Kings in the future, or even more."

"If we don't deal with such a human cultivator soon, once he's invited to the Holy Island, even I will be powerless to stop him."

"This man must die!" The Taoist priest roared, his face contorted with rage. A purple shadow suddenly rose from his body and then fell back into his body.

If anyone were here, they would have noticed that the moment the purple shadow burst out of the Taoist's body, it was as if his vital energy was completely drained, and his body became extremely withered. But the next moment, after the purple shadow returned to his body, his body regained its vitality.

The dignified Tianluo Zhenren, a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Tianyuan City Elders Council, had already perished after being possessed by a Saint-level being from the Shadow Clan!

Nie Zhaonan was certainly aware of this, but he hadn't expected that he had already attracted the attention of the master. After all, even though he had dealt a fatal blow to Huang Bao in full view of everyone, the 'Heavenly Net Master' hadn't shown up, nor had he questioned him.

However, he was unaware that 'Heavenly Thunder True Man' had already made his move that day, but was stopped by the Silver Light Fairy on duty from the demon race.

In this way, Nie Zhaonan naturally had no idea that this special mission was specifically aimed at him.

Right now, he and his three Daoist partners are leisurely enjoying spiritual tea and wine as they head towards their destination.

However, they encountered a small problem: a group of strange birds and ancient beasts charged at the Azure Spirit Shuttle with reckless abandon.

These strange birds were each about ten feet in size, but they had three pairs of fleshy wings on their backs. Their bodies resembled bats magnified countless times, but their enormous heads were shaped like bison, with two short, thick, curved horns that bent backward. When they opened their mouths, they had a mouthful of fangs, making them extremely ferocious.

There are tens of thousands of these strange birds. With each flap of their six wings, a dark, misty wind is created out of thin air. Moreover, these strange birds have a pair of black claws under their bodies that look like they are cast from gold and iron, radiating a cold, chilling light. They are extremely fierce, and in terms of strength alone, they seem to be no less than ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators!

If it were a single, ordinary Void Refinement cultivator, encountering such a flock of wild and strange birds would probably be quite a headache. To avoid trouble, they might even temporarily give way.

With the Azure Shuttle by their side, Nie Zhaonan and his group didn't need to personally kill any of the strange birds in the face of their frenzied attacks.

The Azure Spirit Shuttle was incredibly fast, flying forward recklessly.

Any strange bird that blocked their path was smashed apart as if it were made of paper, bursting into patches of blood mist.

Its speed did not decrease at all, and in just a few breaths it broke through the flock of strange birds. The Azure Spirit Shuttle was still full of spiritual light, and its hull did not appear to be damaged in the slightest.

These strange creatures, lacking much intelligence, showed no fear whatsoever. Their beast-like eyes were filled with savage madness as they spread their fleshy wings, determined to give chase.

However, the speed of the Azure Spirit Shuttle was so fast that even a Void Refinement cultivator had little chance of catching up. Even though these strange birds had six wings and were quite good at flying, their speed was still far inferior to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Naturally, they were left far behind in the blink of an eye.
The overwhelming flock of birds vanished, leaving only faint, angry cries.

"These strange birds are of unknown origin, yet there are so many of them. If an ordinary cultivator at the Void Refinement stage were surrounded by them, they might have their magical power completely exhausted and perish in frustration." As if sensing the commotion outside, the beautiful young woman slowly walked out.

Zhao Wugui and Longyang, of course, could not have been unaware of the commotion outside. They wondered if something important was happening, if they thought Nie Zhaonan could handle it easily, or for some other reason, that they did not show themselves and remained in the quiet room.

“If even fellow Daoists are unaware, then I, Nie, am even less aware of this strange bird. However, this also indicates that we have now entered the depths of the wilderness, and such encounters will certainly be frequent on the journey ahead,” Nie Zhaonan said, raising his eyebrows. “Of course. If we really encounter the legendary powerful ancient beasts, with this Azure Spirit Shuttle as our reliance, we can certainly save our lives,” the young woman said with a slight smile to Nie Zhaonan.

Nie Zhaonan nodded calmly and immediately invited the head of the Gu family to sit down and have some tea.

"Good tea," the young woman praised lightly, then her gaze shifted to the energetic Nie Zhaonan, her expression becoming somewhat strange, as if she were saying unintentionally:
"Brother Nie has been wielding a treasure of such high quality as the Azure Spirit Shuttle for several days. Logically speaking, your magical power should have been completely exhausted by now. How come, to my observation, your magical power still appears quite abundant, as if it has not been depleted much?"

Sensing the confusion in her voice, Nie Zhaonan chuckled and replied noncommittally:
"I have quite a few elixirs that restore mana, so maintaining a full mana pool is not difficult."

Upon hearing this, the young woman silently rolled her eyes. This fellow Daoist Nie really didn't reveal a single word about his own situation.

How could she not tell that these words were just polite words? Pills that could accelerate the recovery of a Void Refinement cultivator's mana were extremely rare, and they would never be used on a leisurely journey. They were more suitable for taking when fleeing for one's life.

Regardless of the turmoil in her heart, her expression remained unchanged, and she smiled and remarked:

"It seems that you are not cultivating an ordinary technique, otherwise your magical power would not be so pure and abundant. Could it be that you are cultivating the technique on the inner pages of the Golden Jade Book? If so, it is not surprising that you have such strength."

“The immortal cultivation techniques in the Golden Jade Book are not something that ordinary cultivators can practice. The cultivation technique I practice has absolutely no connection with the Golden Jade Book.” Nie Zhaonan shook his head slightly.

"Could it be that the cultivation technique you practice is related to those great masters in human history? Fellow Daoist, why don't you tell me the name of the technique? I have some knowledge and may be able to provide you with some useful information." Knowing that Nie Zhaonan had only recently returned to the clan and probably didn't know much about its affairs, the young woman said this partly out of curiosity and partly out of goodwill.

“Fairy Xiaofeng, my husband’s cultivation method is not something that can be discussed with outsiders,” Nangong Wan, who was standing next to Nie Zhaonan, explained softly with her mouth slightly open.

"I see, it's inconvenient to tell outsiders." As if she had realized something, the young woman looked at the three beautiful women in front of her and her face showed a look of sudden understanding.

She said that all of Fellow Daoist Nie's companions were Nascent Soul cultivators with considerable cultivation levels. It turned out that Fellow Daoist Nie was actually practicing a dual cultivation technique.

However, while mastering dual cultivation techniques generally does accelerate a cultivator's progress, it also results in a weaker overall strength compared to cultivators of the same level.

But the person in front of him was clearly not like that.

Cultivation techniques also vary in quality, and the dual cultivation technique practiced by this fellow Daoist Nie is probably one of the top-tier ones.

Seeing the young woman's change in expression, clearly indicating that she was thinking something inappropriate, Nie Zhaonan did not offer any explanation and remained silent.

Next, the young woman stopped hiding her purpose and showed great curiosity about Nie Zhaonan, intentionally or unintentionally steer the conversation toward him, and managed to get a lot of information out of him.

However, these were all insignificant matters. Even so, the young woman from the Gu family still smiled, as if bathed in a spring breeze.

Nie Zhaonan naturally took the opportunity to ask some questions that interested him, and received answers to them one by one. They had a very pleasant conversation.

Over the next seven or eight days, the Azure Shuttle sped through the sky. Although it encountered other types of aerial birds and beasts along the way, it passed them all without any hindrance, just like before.

They later encountered three ancient beasts at the Refinement of Void realm, which were killed one by one after Wang Ning, Yuan Yao, and Nangong Wan took turns attacking them.

With their Nascent Soul stage cultivation level, facing an ancient beast at the Void Refinement stage, the three women naturally went all out, unleashing their magic weapons and supernatural powers, and naturally revealing their dual cultivation of magic and body.

This truly surprised Fairy Xiaofeng and the others, who had previously paid no attention to the three women. Among them, Longyang's expression was undoubtedly the most interesting.

They never expected that the three women were all dual cultivators of both body and magic, and that they were not practicing ordinary techniques, but possessing the terrifying strength to kill ancient beasts at the Void Refinement level.

Although the power of dual cultivation of body and mind is known to all cultivators, the scenes unfolding before their eyes gave Fairy Xiaofeng and the others a more direct understanding, and they even spontaneously considered cultivating a body-refining technique as well.

But as soon as he thought about how difficult it was to refine his body, the thought vanished in an instant, as if it had never even crossed his mind.

The Sky Sand Wasteland is a vast expanse of yellow sand located at the border between the Wildlands and the Shadow Clan's territory.

It is said that the area is so vast that even a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage would need to fly day and night for about a month to cross this wasteland.

In addition, this place is known for its yellow winds and flying sand, and not a single plant can be seen. It is a famous wasteland, so few cultivators visit this place.

Even if cultivators occasionally have to pass through this wasteland, they will fly away without stopping for a moment.

However, on this day, in a certain place deep in this wasteland, the Azure Shuttle slowly descended, then disappeared with a flash of azure light, replaced by seven figures standing in mid-air.

"Fellow Daoist Nie, what are your plans next?" After glancing at the endless yellow sand, the beautiful young woman asked Nie Zhaonan for his opinion.

Since Wang Ning, Yuan Yao, and Nangong Wan displayed strength that surpassed that of ordinary early-stage Void Refinement cultivators, the other three Void Refinement cultivators naturally took Nie Zhaonan as their leader.

Nie Zhaonan didn't answer. Instead, he looked around and asked calmly:
What are your thoughts?

As a disciple of Tianluo Zhenren, Zhao Wugui naturally knew the details of the mission very well, and interjected:

　Thank you all for your support with your collections, recommendations, and monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)